"When I put my spikes on and step up to the line, I feel invincible"

There are a lot of reasons why I run. When people or friends at school ask me why they usually ask with “why do you run for fun.” Often, I jokingly respond with a “I don’t even know” or a “it’s not so bad.” I only tell them this because there is so much they wouldn’t understand or want to accept. 

First I’ll start with some little things. I run for the pasta dinners the day before meets. The thrill of a pr. Throwing around all sorts of things that we can get a hold of until the coaches take it away. The ice baths. The look on people’s face when you tell them you just ran 10+ miles the night before. Those are just a few examples of the small stuff. 

I run for the adrenaline rush I get when I start the 5000m journey to a finish line. When everything seems to disappear. Any sadness, any worries, any anger, I take it out all 3 miles and leave a little extra just for the last couple 100 meters. When people say, “it’s not a real sport” I laugh. They don’t know. They eat fast food hours before their games. They take breaks during games. They compete against one team at a time. We compete against sometimes just a few, sometimes 100s of teams all at once. What other sport can you think of where there can be more than 100 people in one game competing at once. 

Sometimes it isn’t fun. Sometimes it’s something I need. Something that I hold on to so dearly because some days it feels as though it is the only thing I have. When I Put my spikes on and step up to the line., I feel invincible, like the whole world can be hidden. And when I cross the finish line, I will never leave any regrets behind me. 

So there, to all the people who have asked me why I run. Maybe “I don’t know” or “it’s not that bad” is a little easier to explain but this is the real reason why I run.

- Anonymous